Finally, a gift for our many friends who are huge Brooklyn boosters AND huge fans of alternative erotica. Marty Markowitz, we're looking at you! Presenting the I Heart Brooklyn Girls Calendar: more ›

Mayor Bloomberg weighed in on this weekend's savage gay-bashing outside East Village gay bar Phoenix, saying, "Anybody that thinks they can get away with a hate crime is sadly mistaken. It was a disgrace." Well-known performer and drag queen Kevin Aviance is being released from the hospital today after surgery to his jaw. He hopes to recover in time to perform at the Gay Pride Parade on June 25. Aviance was wearing a black sleeveless hoodie, black shorts and boots when he walked down East 13th Street; Clarence Patton, of the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, summed up the fears about the attack to the NY Times, "People will say: Here it is. Kevin Aviance in the East Village in boy's clothes, in a place that's supposed to be ours, getting beat up." The attack occured around 1AM on Saturday night, which is not that late for the East Village - do you feel that the neighborhood is safe or unsafe then? more ›

Police are still investigating the murder of 61 year old William Oliver, whose stabbed body was found in Prospect Park on Saturday. Oliver was found near the Vale of Cashmere, a secluded area near Grand Army Plaza (here's a map of Prospect Park). He was described as an "avid walker" by his siblings; Oliver usually shuttled between his brother's and sister's homes by walking in the park. The Vale has been a gay cruising spot in the park, leading police to suspect the death may be hate crime related. While Oliver's family is not sure if he was gay, Clarence Patton of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project told the NY Times that "at least 10 percent of victims of anti-gay violence are not gay, but rather are targeted in places thought to be gathering spots for gay men or lesbians," saying, "At the end of the day, a man is dead, and it doesn't really matter." more ›